The General Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Tom Moran is due to retire this year.
Some 91 civil servants are due to retire this year from the Department and Tom will be the most senior of them. He has worked with the Department since 1980 and has served in a variety of posts in the Department since his initial role as Administrative Officer.
He also served in the Irish Embassy in Paris as Agriculture Attaché to France and to OECD 1989-1992.
In the Department of Agriculture, he also held the post of Principal Officer of Milk Policy Division from 1992 to 1997 (Responsible for EU market management and supports, trade and milk quotas and public health measures in the milk sector).
After this, he became Assistant Secretary General, with Responsibility for Policy in the Livestock Products Area including dairy sector, beef, sheepmeat, pigmeat and poultry. The area of responsibility included trade issues in these sectors as well as meat hygiene and animal bi-products.
He was appointed Secretary General of the Department in 2004, taking up the role in January 2005.